It also assumes you have a working Apache/PHP environment. Do you? e.g.: if you are using OpenBSD's built-in Apache, have you read and followed the instructions in FAQ 10.16?

While I don't use symon, I'm sure that even a symon user will not be able to help you without the specific configuration information from your system. The "how to" you referenced descirbes directories that do not exist with OpenBSD, you know.

i assume i have the built in apache running bcos when i do a lynx localhost i can see "it worked"

i also installed php using # pkg_add php4-core-4.3.8.tgz (that was all i did. not sure if i have to do more)
i don know how to check if i have php running so I cant say for now that it is properly installed.

Also i know those directories do not exit but a couple of them are created after symon, syweb etc are installed. i think i have also used the right directories in my own scenario.

what is Apache default directory for www files, &
Which configuration files will be useful to troubleshoot?

...i assume i have the built in apache running bcos when i do a lynx localhost i can see "it worked"

Correct.

Quote:

...i also installed php using # pkg_add php4-core-4.3.8.tgz (that was all i did. not sure if i have to do more)

php4-core-4.3.8 ??? Are you absolutely sure? That version was for OpenBSD 3.4, which was released in 2003 and has not been supported since November 2004. (By the way, the last release of OpenBSD to have php4 in it was 4.3, which is no longer supported, either. The most recent release is 4.5; 4.6 will be released on or about November 1. Only the most recent release and its immediate antecedent are supported.)

Quote:

...i don know how to check if i have php running so I cant say for now that it is properly installed.

You do not have an operational PHP system, as additional steps are required to integrate it into the web server. When you installed this ancient package, you should have seen the echo'ed message from within this script on your console. This script (link below) was part of the packaging of php4-core for OpenBSD-3.4, back in 2003:

what is Apache default directory for www files, &
Which configuration files will be useful to troubleshoot?

The built-in Apache is chrooted. It was chrooted, even back when your version of the OS was released. The OpenBSD FAQ discusses this in FAQ 10.16. Of course, it is discussing the most recent -release... which is years beyond what you are running. I mentioned this FAQ to you, above. It also describes the directory structure used by the built in webserver, /var/www. Please, read it. More than once.

If you wish to become a successful and happy OpenBSD user:

Run a supported system. No one can really help you, or will even want to help you, with such an antiquated OS. Not only is it very different from what everyone else is using, so that they cannot replicate your environment without a great deal of effort ..... there have been hundreds of thousands of patches and fixes and improvements applied in the years since 3.4-release. Including many security fixes. If this platform gets exposed to the Internet in any way, it is ... unsafe. Really. If it were just an internal-network router and had no services running... it might be considered robust enough. But certainly not when serving dynamic web applications. And never when exposed to the Internet. Even with nothing on it, if it gets compromised, it becomes a vector in to other platforms on your private network.

Read the FAQ. Please. And do so repeatedly. Over and over. It is the handbook; much more than simply a FAQ, it is the primary "how to" collection for the OpenBSD community, written by the developers. It covers almost all aspects of general operation that admins will be interested in. Note that since the FAQ is for the most recent release, so most of it won't apply to your antiquated platform. (It is possible to grab a historical FAQ from CVS, as I've done for the php4 post-install message script... but you're better off installing and using a modern release. The changes to the OS since 3.4 have been vast.)

Avoid "how to" documents you find in the wild. While some might be wonderful, most will lead you astray; they are often written by new users, who while proud of some accomplishment usually are not technical writers, do not explain what and why they make particular choices for commands and configuration information, nor what the implications are for environments that do not exactly match their own particular configurations may be. More people have gotten into trouble blindly following "how to" documents than you might imagine.

2ndly i actually meant php5-core.5.2.6 (earlier mistake was as a result of copy & paste, sorry bout that) and i am running OpenBSD 4.4

I also realized i have not installed php properly. I am trying to do this now but when i run /usr/local/sbin/phpxs i get an error saying not found.

I seached online and it seems the phpxs does not need to be run on newer versions of php. . i can see it is recommend to install through packages that is why i have not used ports. any suggestion on the php installation?

Okay so i have all the component i need to get symon running and i have php up and running. however i still can not get symon working. browsing to the localhost just produces my php page. i ve included the config file ive modified? i cant figure out what i am doing wrong. any help out pls

# For normal use: "-L sm-mta -bd -q30m", and note there is a cron job
sendmail_flags="-L sm-mta -C/etc/mail/localhost.cf -bd -q30m"
spamd_flags=NO # for normal use: "" and see spamd(8)
spamd_black=NO # set to YES to run spamd without greylisting
spamlogd_flags="" # use eg. "-i interface" and see spamlogd(8)

# Set to NO if ftpd is running out of inetd
ftpd_flags=NO # for non-inetd use: "-D"

# Set to NO if identd is running out of inetd
identd_flags=NO # for non-inetd use: "-b -elo"

# On some architectures, you must also disable console getty in /etc/ttys
xdm_flags=NO # for normal use: ""

You can edit /etc/rc.conf until the heat death of the universe, and it will never have any impact on 3rd party software such as symon. All it can do is set variables used by rc(8). And the variables you made up for symon and symux won't avail you.

Re-read my last post, above, where I told you to edit the rc.local script.

I cannot help you with symon configuration problems, as I have never used it.

Did you start the symux and symon daemons? That would normally be done in /etc/rc.local.

Yes, Done this now.
i have edited the rc.local and symon and symux start up at boot. but i still cant view the graphs by browsing to localhost. i guess right now my problem is viewing the graphs with syweb.

Okay so i finally got it working. lol
i ll post a step by step process here so no one will ever go tru the stress i went through just to get symon working bcos apparently there seem to be very few symon documentations and none of them is explicit